Weather Eye: Look out for the Harvest Moon

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The Moon will loom large and orange tonight, as the autumn equinox causes it to make a narrow angle with the horizon

A fascinating sight could appear in the sky tonight. If the weather is clear on the horizon, the Moon will loom large and coloured orange like a giant pumpkin. This is the Harvest Moon, the old name for the full moon closest to the autumn equinox — which follows on September 22 this year — but why will it seem to be inflated and an orange colour?

Through most of the year the Moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day, but around the autumn equinox this difference shrinks to only 30 minutes and the Moon’s orbital path makes a

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